Electrothermal blanket



P. E. CHARLES. vELECTROTHERMAL BLANKET.

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

APPLICATIQN' FILED JUNE l5, 1918.

INVENTOR PHYLLI'S E'. CHARLES', or v'rcrortvrrnn,l CALIFORNIA.

ELECTROTHERMAL BLANKET.

Application led .Tune 15, 1918.

To all -wwm t may concern.'

Be it known that I, PHYLLIs E. CHARLES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Victorville, in the county of San Bernardino and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electrothermal Blankets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to an electric thermal blanket or pad especially designed for the use of patients during a surgical operation.

In performing surgical operations on patients, and especially where such operations are being performed on the trunk of said patients body, the body is necessarily exposed, the patient suffering from the cool temperature usually maintained in the operating rooms.

By means of my novel electrothermal blanket or pad, only that portion of the patients body is exposed on which the surgeons are operating, the remainder being completely enveloped by the warmblanket.

It is an object of my invention to provide an electric heating blanket consisting of a body memberhaving a plurality of flaps at-` tached to or formed integral with one of the longitudinal edges of said body member, whereby only that portion of the patients body that is being operated upon will be exposed. l

I accomplish the above objects by means of the blanket described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: v

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved blanket in a fiat condition, showing the electric circuit in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my improved blanket with some of the flaps in a folded condition. V.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail cross section through the blanket showing the method of maintaining the electric conductors in position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, my lmproved blanket consists of a body member 5 preferably formed of two plies of flexible material and having formed Specification of Letters Patent.

wiring o the electric heatin Patented Oct. 26, 1920. serial No. 240.214.

on one of its longitudinal ed es 8 a plurality of flaps 9, l0, l1 and 12, t e flaps here shown being four in number, but any other number desired may be employed. Interposed between the opposing faces of the plies 6 and 7 is an electric circuit 13 secured between the faces of the plies 6 and 7 in any suitable manner, the ends of the circuit terminating in an electric plug 14, which may be attached to any electric lighting socket (not shown).

When a patient is brought into an operating room for an operation the body member 5 is spreadupon the operating table and the patient is placed thereon. If the operation should happen to be an abdominal one, the iap l0 is turned downwardly so as to expose the abdomen of the person, while the flaps 9, ll and l2 are folded across the other portion of the persons anatomy, the unexposed portion of the body being comfortably warmed during the operation.

I have shown in the construction illustrated a blanket provided with flaps and having a single circuit, but each of the flaps may be connected by switches (not shown) so as to cut out the circuit of any particular Hap that is turned outwardly as shown in Fi 2 of the drawings.

IVhat I claim is:

An electro'thermal blanket comprising a body member formed of a flexible material, an electrical heating circuit secured within said body member, said heating circuit having a lead to connect it to a source of electric energy, .and a plurality of flaps formed onv one of extendin edges of said body member, the circuit being so arranged as to extend within each of said flaps, said flaps ada ted to be folded over said body member w en the same is in use, whereby only the desired portion of a patients body will be exposed during an operation. d

In witness that I claim the fore oing I have hereunto subscribed my name t is 28th day of May, 1918.

PHYLLIS E. CHARLES.

construction,

the i longitudinally 

